Pubdate: Fri, 06 Apr 2001
Source: Advocate, The (LA)
Copyright: 2001 The Advocate, Capital City Press
Contact:  http://www.theadvocate.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2
Author: Will Sentell
Note: Will Sentell covers state education issues for The Advocate.

BILL TO TEST TEACHERS FOR DRUGS QUESTIONED

Agree or disagree: Should teachers undergo drug tests before they 
enter the classroom? State Sen. Fred Hoyt, D-Abbeville, wants to do 
just that.

"Here we have teachers, the role models, heroes for our kids, who are 
holding the future of Louisiana in their hands, and we don't have a 
policy," Hoyt said.

Hoyt said 28 other states require teachers to undergo some kind of 
tests for illegal drugs.

"I am not trying to portray teachers as drug users," he said. "We are 
simply trying to provide a deterrent from anybody that uses drugs."

Leaders of the state's top two teacher unions disagree. They said 
Hoyt's bill has a variety of flaws and would step on the individual 
liberties of teachers.

"While the intent of this bill is honorable, we have to do it the 
right way," said Tom Tate, chief lobbyist for the Louisiana 
Association of Educators.

Tate also said courts have made a distinction between private 
companies, where pre-employment drug tests are common, and public 
bodies.

"I believe that tests will be challenged -- and successfully 
challenged," he told the Senate Education Committee.

Hoyt's bill would require school districts to establish drug-testing 
policies before teachers, substitute teachers, bus drivers, 
administrators and others who supervise children are hired.

Teachers would pay for the test, estimated to cost about $35.

Critics said that is unfair too.

"I may not have $35 for that test," said Sen. Paulette Irons, D-New 
Orleans and a member of the education committee.

Hoyt countered that the test would not apply to everyone who applies 
for a teaching job. It would only be a final hurdle if the district 
is ready to offer the applicant a job.

"It is like 'Here is a $35,000-a-year job if you pay $35 for drug 
screening,'" Hoyt said.

Hoyt said his bill was not triggered by any single incident. But he 
said there were 750 cases nationally in which educators were 
convicted of substance abuse between 1987-96.

Mike Lucia, executive director of the Louisiana Association of School 
Superintendents, said he was a school superintendent for 10 years. 
While people prefer to believe otherwise, schools are not immune to 
drug problems, he said.

Ferdinand Troullier, field representative for the Louisiana 
Federation of Teachers, said drug users could get around the test by 
avoiding them before applying for a job, Troullier said.

"I would suggest that you not pass this," he said.

While Hoyt's bill triggered a lengthy, animated debate in a Senate 
committee last week, the issue barely registers in school hallways.

Tammy Wood, a teacher in the gifted program at Brownfields Elementary 
Magnet School, said the issue has triggered little talk.

"Really and truly, it would not bother me at all if I was a new 
teacher coming into the system," Wood said. She does not belong to a 
teacher union.

Mark Richterman, principal at Melrose Elementary, said drug tests are 
not a big topic.

"I would hope that we would not come to the time where that would be 
necessary," Richterman said.

Hoyt hoped his bill would be approved by the Senate Education 
Committee last week. Instead, he shelved the measure to resolve 
questions that surround it, especially if the bill runs afoul of 
court rulings.

Whether the measure sparks a major row or dies a quiet death is unclear.

Hoyt said he is not bothered by criticism that his bill would be 
unfair to teachers.

"If in fact it is a personal intrusion to prohibit drug users from 
teaching our kids, I think we need to push for that," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe